Continuous form stationery burster



Aug- 29, 1967 R. wQscHUTz 3,338,487

CONTINUOUS FORM STATIONERY BURSTER Filed oct.' 21, 1965 4 sheets-sheet 1Aug. 29, 1967 R. w. SCHUTZ CONTINUOUS FORM STATIONERY BURSTER 4Sheets-5heet Filed Oct. 2l, 1965 Aug. 29, R W SCHUTZ 3,338,487

CONTINUOUS FORM STATIONERY BURSTER Filed Oct. 2l, 1965 4 Sheets-Smet 5Aug. 29, 1967 R. w. SCHUTZ CONTINUOUS FORM STATIONERY BURSTER Filed OCt.2l, 1965 4 Sheets-$heet 4 a, /6 Z fw F/Qf 2 M f Z E F j F 6) 144@ 4 fUnited States Patent Oliice 3,338,487 Patented Aug. 29, 1967 3,338,487CONTINUOUS FORM STATIONERY BURSTER Rudolph W. Schutz, Walnut Creek,Calif., assignor to Varco Incorporated, a corporation of Illinois FiledOct. 21, 1965, Ser. No. 499,312 Claims. (Cl. 22S-100) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A continuous form stationery burster having two pairs ofdriven rollers spaced a fixed distance apart, one pair of which isnormally driven at a greater speed than the other pair with slip clutchmeans interposed in the drive of the one pair of rollers to reduce thespeed of the one pair of rollers and increase the torque thereofresponsive to simultaneous gripping of said stationery by both pairs ofrollers to increase tension in the stationery and cause the stationeryto break on transverse lines of weakening.

This invention relates to a mechanism for separating continuous formstationery along transverse lines of weakening and more particularly toa new and improved burster wherein the front and rear set of burstingrollers is maintained at a Xed distance relative to each other.

Continuous form stationery is typically zig-zag folded about transverselines of weakening which separate or burst the continuous form intoindividual form lengths. For separating the forms, some previousbursters have operated on the principle of setting the front and rearrollers a distance apart which was equal to or slightly greater than oneform length with the rear outfeed rollers traveling at a faster ratethan the front rollers to pull the forms apart. Another method ofbursting stationery is to use sets of rollers that are mounted a xeddistance apart wherein the rear set of rollers is movable in and out offrictional contact with the upper in timed relation to the length ofpaper fed through the machine. In these former bursting devices,adjustment would necessarily have to be made for bursting dilferentstrips of continuous form stationery wherein the individual form lengthswere of different dimensions. With the former type of burster, a changein individual form lengths required a change in the distance between thesets of rollers. In the latter case, a change in the form lengthsrequired a change in the timing mechanism which moved the rear rollersin and out of contact with each other. Moreover, it was not possible toburst continuous form stationery wherein each form length or ticketwithin the strip might have a different length than others in the strip.

It is therefore a general object of this invention to provide a new andimproved burster for separating continuous form stationery intoindividual form lengths.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a new and improvedstationery burster which does not require an adjustment in the distancebetween the rollers for bursting continuous form stationery of differentindividual form lengths.

Another object of this invention s to provide a new and improved bursterfor continuous form stationery which is capable of separating continuousform stationery into individual form lengths wherein the dimensions ofthe form lengths in each strip of stationery may differ one from theother.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and vimprovedburster for continuous form stationery wherein the front and rearoutfeed bursting rollers are mounted in the burster so as to continuallymaintain a vxed distance between the rollers.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a new and improvedburster wherein the rear outfeed bursting rollers are normallyassociated with the drive means to be driven at a faster rate than thefront set of bursting rollers but slow substantially to the speed of thefront bursting rollers during those periods of burster operation whenboth sets of rollers are gripping the continuous stationery strip.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the following description of the preferred embodimentillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a section view (generally in side elevation) of the bursterof this invention taken along the line 1 1 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the burster shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a section view through the rear outfeed rollers of theburster of this invention taken along the line 3 3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a section view of the clutch mechanism associated with therear outfeed set of burster rollers taken along the line 4 4 of FIGURE3;

FIGURE 5 is another section view of the clutch mechanism taken along theline 5 5 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a section view of the burster taken along the line 6 6 ofFIGURE 2;

FIGURE 7 is a top diagrammatic view of the separation of a form lengthfrom the continuous strip by means of the burster of this invention;

FIGURE S is a side diagrammatic view showing the function illustrated inFIGURE 7; and

FIGURE 9 is a diagrammatic view similar to FIG- URE 8 showing the frontand rear outfeed bursting rollers simultaneously gripping a portion ofthe continuous stationery strip.

The burster 10 of this invention includes a front set of burstingrollers 12 and a 'rear or outfeed set of bursting rollers 14 driven by amotor 16 through suitable drive means 18. The function of the burster isto drive a continuous strip of stationery 20 which may be folded in azig-zag stack 22 in the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIGURE 1and to separate the continuous strip along the transverse lines ofweakening 24 into individual tickets or form lengths 26. The formlengths are ejected from the machine in the direction indicated by thearrow B and stacked in a stack 28.

The drive means 18 includes a system of belts and pulleysinterconnecting the motor and the bursting rollers. Motor 16 rotates adrive shaft 30 which has a pulley wheel 32 mounted on its free end. Belt34 is wrapped about pulley 32 and also about the enlarged portion 36a ofpulley 36. Pulley 36 is mounted for rotation on a rotatable shaft 38 andhas a reduced pulley portion 36b which carries belt 40. Belt 40, inturn, is wrapped about reduced portion 42a of pulley 42 which is mountedon front lower roller shaft 43. Pulley 42 also has an enlargedperipheral portion 42b about which the belt 46 is wrapped. Belt 46 is inturn also wrapped about pulley 48 which is operably associated with rearlower outfeed roller shaft 49 by means of clutch 50. In addition, belt46 engages idler 51 in a portion of its path of travel to providesuitable tension in belt 46. i

Front roller unit 12 includes a pair of front bursting rollers mountedin vertical tandem such as upper roller 52 and lower roller 56. Therollers have reduced end portions 52a which are adjacent the oppositesides of the frame and longitudinally extending relieved portions orflats such as 52h. In addition, the yrollers are provided with spacedannular recesses 52C. The upper roller is mounted on the upper rollershaft 53 which is held in the frame in a bearing block 54 to permit freerotation of the roller. Lower roller 56 is mounted on shaft 43 whichmaysimilarly be rotatably mounted in a bearing block (not shown). Theupper land lower roller shafts are provided with meshing gears at theside opposite from the pulleys and belts, such as gear 58 on upperroller shaft 53, so that rotation of the lower roller shaft 43 by thedrive means will be transmitted to the upper roller shaft to drive thelower roller in a clockwise direction and the upper roller in acounterclockwise direction (as indicated by the arrows C and D,respectively, in FIGURES 6, 8 and 9) and propel paper fed therebetweentoward the rear of the burster. A handle 59 may be mounted on the oneend of the lower roller shaft 43 for manual rotation of the rollers, ifdesired.

The rear or outfeed roller unit also includes a pair of upper and lowerrollers 60 .and 62 mounted in vertical tandem on shafts 61 and 49,respectively. These rollers also have reduced end portions such as 60anear the sides of the frame. Each of these rollers is similarly providedwith two longitudinally extending relieved portions or ats 6017, 180apart, as well as annular recesses 60e and 62e, respectively. Inaddition, these rollers may be mounted for rotation in bearing blocks60d positioned in the side walls of the frame. The lower rear outfeedroller shaft 49 is provided with a gear 64 at the end thereof oppositefrom clutch 50 which meshes with gear 66 on the upper roller shaft 61 sothat the lower roller is driven in a clockwise direction and the upperroller is driven in a counterclockwise direction (as indicated by thearrows E and F in FIGURES 6, 8 and 9) to similarly feed the stationeryout of the rear of the burster in the direction indicated by the arrow Bin FIGURES 1, 7, 8 and 9.

Through the several pulleys and belts of the drive system, the driveratio is such that the rear rollers are to be normally driven at anincreased speed relative to the front rollers.

A breaker unit 68 may be mounted in the frame between the front and rearburster rollers, preferably slightly behind the front rollers. Breakerunit 68 includes a shaft 70 which extends across the frame and whichsupports disc segments 72. Preferably the shaft is at least mounted sothat a portion of the periphery of the disc segment 72 projects slightlyabove the normal path of travel of stationery through the burster tocause the stationery to ride over the breaker unit 68 and encouragestationery to tear along the line of weakening as the line of weakeningpasses the peripheral projection of segment 72. It is to be understoodthat either the segments 72 or the shaft 70 could be mounted in theburster in such a manner as to provide for the vertical adjustment ofthe breaker unit 68 for optimum bursting conditions.

Clutch means 50 which is mounted about shaft 49 of the lower rearbursting rollerprovides an adjustable means for automatically changingthe speed of the rear burster rollers responsive to load conditionsimposed thereon. Clutch 50 includes 'a housing 74 having front and reargenerally disc-like upstanding walls 76a and 76b, respectively. Rearwall 76h is an integral extension of pulley 48 and rotates therewith.Front wall 76a supports an adjustment knob 78 which has a threaded shank78a threada-bly received in opening 80 in the front wall to provide ameans for adjusting the clutch.

The clutch housing also includes a circular cylindrical wall 82 which issecured to and extends between the front and rear walls. The interior ofthe circular cylindrical wall is provided with a longitudinallyextending keyway 84 which receives an elongate key 86. The interior ofthe clutch is provided with a plurality of first dics 88 positioned onshaft 49. Discs 88 have an inner diameter substantially larger than theouter diameter of shaft 49 and further have an outer diameter generallycoextensive with the inner diameter of the cylindrical wall 82. Thesediscs 88 are notched at a portion of the periphery to provide a keyway90 for receiving key 86 which is positioned within keyway 84 of the wall82 so that rotation of housing 82 will in turn cause rotation of discs88.

The clutch also includes second discs 92 positioned on shaft 49 betweendiscs 88. Discs 92 have an outer diameter substantially smaller than theinner diameter of the housing wall 82 but have an inner diametersubstantially coextensive with the outer diameter of shaft 49. Moreover,these discs 92 are provided with a notched inner diameter portion 94 forreceiving a key 96 which is also positioned in the keyway 98 in shaft 49so that rotation of discs 92 in turn causes rotation of shaft 49.

A collar 100 is positioned over the free end of shaft 49 and is held inplace by means of a screw 102 and washer 103. A spring 104 bears againstthe face of the outermost disc 88 and also against the face of anadjusting disc 106 which abuts the threaded end 78a of adjustment knob78. By turning knob 78 and threading shank 78a inwardly and outwardly,disc 106 will move inwardly and outwardly to adjust the pressure exertedby the spring on the several discs 88 and 92. As the discs are moretightly urged into facial engagement with each other, there is moredirect drive from housing 74 to shaft 49; whereas, when the tension inthe spring is reduced, there is more slippage between the discs.However, a load or pull on the rear rollers will induce a greaterslippage in the clutch which causes the clutch to transmit maximumtorque to shaft 49. In this manner, the output of the clutch changes asdifferent load conditions are encountered without necessitating anadjustment in the drive system.

The burster may further be provided with a paper guiding means includinga sheet-like lower guide 110 having finger-like portions 110a and 110]?which extend through the annular recesses in the front and rear lowerrollers 56 and 62, respectively. The fingers 110a may be secured to abar 112 which extends across the forward end of the burster ahead of thefront bursting rollers and lingers 11019 may be secured to a bar 114which extends across the rear of the burster to mount the lower guide110 in the burster and provide a supporting platform for stationery fedtherethrough.

A front upper paper guide 116 having forwardly extending fingers 116awhich extend through the annular recess 52e of front upper roller 52 issecured to a bar 118 which extends across the front of the machine aheadof the front bursting rollers. This guide 116 facilitates initial infeedof stationery into the burster. Intermediate paper guide 120 ispreferably a grid or finger-like structure secured at one end to a bar122 which extends across the burster slightly behind the front burstingrollers and secured at its other end to a bar 124 which extends acrossthe rear of the burster behind the rear bursting rollers by means ofclamp 126. The intermediate paper guide 120 serves to guide the leadingedge of the stationery into the rear bursting rollers.

A significant feature of this invention is that the front and rear setsof rollers 12 and 14 are mounted in the frame a xed distance apart andare not movable relative to each other as has been common in this typeof mechanism. This is made possible by driving the rear roller unit at afaster speed than the front roller unit through the medium of theadjustable clutch. When no loads are present on the roller units, therear roller unit will be driven at its normal increased rate of speedresultant from the ratio of the belts and pulleys of the drive system.However, as paper is fed through the burster and simultaneously graspedby the front and rear rollers, the drag on the rear roller unit causedby the front roller unit grasping the same piece of paper and driving itat a lower rate of speed will cause the rear roller unit to slow downand induce tension in the paper. When the line of weakening orperforations in the paper passes the front roller unit and issubstantially in alignment with the breaker means 68, the increasedtension or pull produced by the rear roller unit will separate the paperalong the line of weakening. The paper does not tear in the portionsintermediate the lines of weakening because the full strength of paperis presentat these points and is sufficient to overcome the pull.

For example, typically continuous form stationery of .003 inch inthickness has a strength of about l() lbs. per inch of width. If thestrip of stationery is 14 inches wide, it would take about 140 lbs. ofpull to tear this strip. It is common that in the line of perforation 24there are six ties (the portions of paper which are not perforated) pereach inch of width of the stationery, and each tie is generally .040inch in width. Thus in each one inch of stationery width, the totalpaper area holding the stationery together along the line of perforationis 6 (each tie) x .040 (the width of each tie) or .240 inch. Therefore,it would take approximately only 2.4 lbs. of pull along one inch widthof a line of perforation to separate the paper as opposed to the l0 lbs.it would take to separate the paper along one inch width of the paperitself.

The adjustment knob 78 permits the clutch to be adjusted for differentpaper weights, strengths, and widths so that tearing will not take placebetween the line of perforation but will only take place at the line ofperforation. By turning the knob to thread the shaft in and out andtherefore change the pressure of the spring against the several discs ofthe clutch, the amount of tension produced in the paper while it issimultaneously grasped by the front and rear rollers can be changed toaccommodate the specic paper being threaded through the burster andinsure that separation will only take place along the lines ofweakening.

FIGURES 7, 8 and 9 diagrammatically illustrate the operation of theburster. The continuous strip of stationery shown in FIGURE 7 has formlengths of different dimensions 26a, 26h, and 26C. In FIGURES 7 and 8,form length 26a has just been separated from the remainder of the stripas the line of weakening passed over the breaker means 68. As soon asthe separation is accomplished, the rear set of rollers 14 accelerate totheir normal increased speed to advance the separated ticket 26 at anincreased rate and eject the ticket out of the burster in the directionindicated by the arrow B. In FIGURE 9, form length 26h is between bothsets of rollers 12 and 14 and therefore the rear set of rollers 14 slowsdown and produces a tension in the strip between the rollers. As soon asthe line of weakening 24 between form lengths 26h and 26e advances to apoint generally above breaker means 68, the tension in the stationerywill cause it to break along the line of weakening. Form length 26b willthen be advanced at an increased rate of speed similar to that shown inFIGURE 8 with respect to form length 2Gb.

Thus the burster of this invention provides a novel means for separatingcontinuous form stationery without the necessity for adjustment of thedistance between the bursting rollers. This permits, rst of all, a morecompact bursting device. Secondly, it reduces the complex componentsnecessary when the adjustable sets of rollers are being driven by thesame drive means. Furthermore, the burster is not only capable ofbursting different strips of stationery without adjustment between therollers, but is also capable of bursting stationery which has individualforms or tickets of different lengths within the same strip.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness ofunderstanding only, and no unnecessary limita-tions should be understoodtherefrom, as some modifications may be obvious to those skilled in theart.

I claim:

1. A burster mechanism for separating continuous form stationery intoindividual form lengths between transverse lines of weakening,comprising: a frame; drive means mounted in said frame; a rst pair ofrollers mounted in said frame in the path of stationery travel forgripping and feeding stationery through the burster, said rst pair ofrollers being driven by said drive means; a second pair of rollersmounted in said frame in the path of stationery travel for gripping andfeeding stationery through the burster; and slip means connecting saiddrive means to said second pair of rollers, said slip means responsiveto paper feeding to normally drive said second pair of rollers at afaster rate of speed than said first pair of rollers and to drive saidsecond pair of rollers at a reduced rate of speed responsive tosimultaneous gripping of paper by said rst and second pairs of rollersto thereby create tension in the stationery between said first andsecond pairs of rollers of sucient force to separate the stationeryalong a transverse line of weakening.

2. A burster mechanism for separating continuous form stationery intoindividual form lengths between transverse lines of weakening,comprising: a frame; a rst pair of driven rollers mounted in said framein the path of stationery travel for gripping and feeding stationerythrough the burster; a second pair of rollers mounted in said frame inthe path of stationery travel for gripping and feeding the stationerythrough the burster, said second pair of rollers positioned in the framea fixed distance from said first pair of rollers; drive means mounted insaid frame, said drive means connected to said rst and second rollersfor driving said rollers; and clutch means interconnecting said drivemeans to said second pair of rollers for normally driving said secondpair of rollers at a faster rate than said rst pair of rollers, saidclutch means responsive to the simultaneous gripping of paper by saidfirst and second pair of rollers to reduce the speed and increase thetorque of the second pair of rollers to thereby increase the tension inthe stationery between the rst and second rollers to cause separation ofthe stationery along a transverse line of weakening when the stationeryis advanced to a point where the line of weakening is between the pairsof rollers.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein a single source of power is used todrive said first and second pairs of rollers.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said clutch includes a housing drivenby said drive means, said housing being positioned about the drive shaftfor the second pair of rollers and a plurality of rst discs in thehousing rotatable with the housing and a plurality of second discs inthe housing rotatable with the shaft, said discs juxtaposed for slidingfacial engagement with each other, rotation of said housing by saiddrive means causing said first discs to rotate said second discs andthereby rotate said second roller drive shaft.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein said clutch is provided with a biasingmember normally urging said discs into facial engagement with each otherand wherein said clutch is further provided with an element for changingthe amount of force produced by said biasing member to therebyselectively increase or decrease the facial engagement between saiddiscs to adjust the burster for operation with stationery of differentcharacteristics.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,429,944 10/ 1947 Rayburn et al225-4 2,513,093 6/1950 Hageman 225--100 2,862,554 12/ 1958 Davidson22S-100 FOREIGN PATENTS 808,379 1/1956 Great Britain.

WILLIAM W. DYER, JR., Primary Examiner.

I. M. MEISTER, Assistant Exam-liner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No 3 ,338,487 August 29 1967 Rudolph W. Schutz It is hereby certified that errorappears n the above numbered patent requiring correction and that thesaid Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

In the heading to the printed specification, line 4, for "VarcoIncorporated" read Uarco Incorporated Signed and sealed this 24th day ofSeptember 1968.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD I. BRENNER Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer

1. A BURSTER MECHANISM FO SEPARATING CONTINUOUS FORM STATIONERY INTOINDIVIDUAL FORM LENGTHS BETWEEN TRANSVERSE LINES OF WEAKENING,COMPRISING: A FRAME; DRIVE MEANS MOUNTED IN SAID FRAME; A FIRST PAIR OFROLLERS MOUNTED IN SAID FRAME IN THE PATH OF STATIONARY TRAVEL FORGRIPPING AND FEEDING STATIONERY THROUGH THE BURSTER, SAID FIRST PAIR OFROLLERS BEING DRIVEN BY SAID DRIVE MEANS; A SECOND PAIR OF ROLLERSMOUNTED IN SAID FRAME IN THE PATH OF STATIONERY TRAVEL FOR GRIPPING ANDFEEDING STATIONERY THROUGH THE BURSTER; AND SLIP MEANS CONNECTING SAIDDRIVE MEANS TO SAID SECOND PAIR OF ROLLERS, SAID SLIP MEANS RESPONSIVETO PAPER FEEDING TO NORMALLY DRIVE SAID SECOND PAIR OF ROLLERS AT AFASTER RATE OF SPEED THAN SAID FIRST PAIR OF ROLLERS AND TO DRIVE SAIDSECOND PAIR OF ROLLERS AT A REDUCED RATE OF SPEED RESPONSIVE TOSIMULTANEOUS GRIPPING OF PAPER BY SAID FIRST AND SECOND PAIRS OF ROLLERSTO THEREBY CREATE TENSION IN THE STATIONERY BETWEEN SAID FIRST ANDSECOND PAIRS OF ROLLERS OF SUFFICIENT FORCE TO SEPARATE THE STATIONERYALONG A TRANSVERSE LINE OF WEAKENING.